Our business need was to provide a quicker, cost effective approach to achieve same or better results within an Integrated Business
Environment. Dynamics AX provided us an appropriate platform and a road map

Integrated Engineering Services, a strategic business unit of Larsen & Toubro, is a relatively young and small business group with approximately 3,000 plus employees. With projects pouring in from across the globe, an efficient process management tool was necessary. The company partnered with SAGlobal to deploy Microsoft® Dynamics™ AX 4.0.

With the new solution, timesheets are integrated into the billing process which guarantees timely invoicing. Also, regular reports on productivity ensure that managers are able to put the right resources to deliver customer’s requirements. With this L&T IES has seen an overall improvement in its Management Information System reporting. The business unit is now able to adapt and respond quickly to changing business conditions.

Situation

Carrying the brand and the legacy of Larsen and Toubro group of companies, L&T Integrated Engineering Services (IES) offers engineering solutions covering entire product life cycle in the domains of automotive, aerospace, off-highway equipment, industrial products, marine & ship design and plant
engineering services to various Fortune 500 clients around the globe.

Headquartered at Vadodara, L&T IES has state-of-art offshore development centers at Bangalore, Mumbai, Baroda, Chennai, and Mysore, which are equipped with all the modern facilities. The overseas offices are located in United States, Europe and Japan along with a network of business associates in various places. The company employs approximately 3,000 plus technically skilled professionals. It is part of the U.S.$ 10 billion engineering conglomerate from India.

IES was successfully using a legacy system for all its business accounting requirements. Besides, Microsoft Office Excel worksheets and Microsoft Project were used for preparing timesheets, scheduling, planning, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads.

Since timesheets were manually prepared and reviewed, there were delays in invoicing. Also, there were issues while adding new database objects not to mention the complexity due to which highly trained personnel were required to operate the same. Moreover, variation on sales and purchase was not covered by the existing system. As the purchase process was manual, a manual system was used to track orders etc.

IES realized that instead of costly and time intensive upgrades along with high support and maintenance cost associated with the legacy system, it should opt for a simpler, quicker and cheaper approach to achieve the same or better results along with a totally integrated environment.

IES identified a strong need for a flexible, vertically focused solution to conduct business across multiple locations and countries with ease.

Solution

IES business unit evaluated various ERP systems in the market however implementation time and overall costs were not within the expected framework. IES’s need was immediate deployment to overcome the existing limitations and improve the processes. The company thus evaluated Microsoft Dynamics AX and few other solutions against its requirements. Microsoft Dynamics AX outpaced its competitors as it was an easy to use solution that worked like other familiar Microsoft applications.

Microsoft Dynamics AX is built with a layered architecture that eases customization abilities without affecting other functionalities. It allowed IES to adapt to new business processes, respond quickly to market changes, and work more effectively.

Moreover, the solution allows quick upgrades with lower risks and expenses. Implementation of this integrated solution was aimed at tracking prospect to cash cycle; time management of employees; reduce errors in invoicing; and faster closing of accounts.

By streamlining resource allocation, we expect a steady improvement in our delivery capabilities.

Mr. Rajan KoulHead Information TechnologyL&T IES

For quick and efficient implementation, IES partnered with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, SAGlobal to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0. Implementation began in September 2008 and the solution went live in 12 months time under the experienced implementation ability of SAGlobal. It was deployed for users at office locations in Baroda, Mysore, Chennai and Bangalore. Modules implemented include CRM, Trade and Logistics, Finance, and Fixed Assets.

The core solution was tailored to add industry-specific solutions, evolve with business and meet the technology needs.

Microsoft Dynamics AX integrates financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes. The integrated accounting applications include payables, receivables, general ledger, and fixed assets. It further supports all identifiers of purchase and facilitates purchase and sales quotations and orders. A campaign associated with each project tracks all the project costs and other expenses.

The solution allows direct access to information by employees while managers have the ability to control access to sensitive data, thus ensuring data security.

Benefits

With quick deployment, IES is already in the process of improving processes and eliminating bottlenecks.

Brings Speed and Control to Financial Processes

Microsoft Dynamics AX facilitates online financial data, thus accounts are finalized quickly. “Breaking down the silos of information, Microsoft Dynamics AX automates flow of information from the sales and delivery teams along with timesheets and financial processes. Along with faster and seamless invoicing process we have been able to eliminate errors considerably. We are also able to close the books within a few days,” says Mr. Manish Malpani, Senior Manager Finance and Accounting, L&T. It helps better control over accounts receivables, thereby improving cash flow and decreasing the administrative time, effort and expenses required to do so.

Improves Operations Management

Microsoft Dynamics AX integrates key business processes and information into a single-view dashboard. Real time insights help identify potential problems and take quick, corrective action. With improved processes and better business intelligence, there is better control on every facet of operations from resources to delivery and finance. Rajan Koul, Head Information Technology, L&T IES says, “By streamlining resource allocation, we expect a steady improvement in our delivery capabilities.”

Lowers Total Cost of Ownership

Overall, L&T IES has been able to reduce costs extensively. To begin with, the cost of acquisition of Microsoft Dynamics AX was significantly low. During implementation, there were two points which helped reduce the costs: the first being the flexibility of the solution to allow quick customization and the second was faster deployment.

Though the previous solution at IES was very effective, it was complex, time consuming and required all employees to be trained on the solution. This meant additional expenses on regular training. With the new solution, the post implementation, management and maintenance costs are negligible compared to the earlier solution.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with
greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems that your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes, and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

About SAGlobal

Established in 1990, SAGlobal provides global mid-market companies and larger enterprises with solutions and professional services around Microsoft’s Dynamics ™ AX ERP system. Headquartered in Europe with offices in over 21 countries world-wide including North America, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, it connects more than 250 professionals through state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities. This world-wide presence allows it to deliver quality solutions, backed by industry expertise to more than 150 customers across 50 countries.

As part of its legacy system, IES was using an ERP solution along with Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Project. Poor integration and manual system for creating timesheets resulted in time intensive processes that led to delayed invoicing.